Showing posts with label plasma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plasma. Show all posts
Today at Plasma
I got in and out of the plasma center relatively quickly today. There is a guy who has been doing it for years who told me some of his "secrets" for giving blood more quickly (he does things I'm not willing to do to my body for a measly check--maybe for a really large check. . .), and he was there today. Well, he was "deferred." When someone is "deferred," it means that they can't give plasma that day. When I finally made it through screening and went to the back, one of the otehr guys who had been in the waiting room with me shouted across the donor floor to ask, "What happened to Sylvester?" He was looking at me, and I realized at that moment that I now belong to the plasma subculture. It's an odd feeling. I don't necessarily want to belong to this subculture, but there I am, with a regular schedule and "colleagues." I am a purveyor of hidden knowledge, and I have been accepted as one of their own. Maybe I should approach it like an anthropologist. Nah.
First Plasma Post
The plasma center where I sell my blood has specialty plasma programs, in which they innoculate you for some disease (Hepatitis, Rabies, Anthrax), and I found out today that I qualify for one. I think it would be cool to say, "I'm vaccinated against Rabies," but the financial benefits of the program are not enough to make it worthwhile, especially since I'll likely only keep doing this until May if I can help it.
There are weird people at the center. Most of the people I meet come from a very different world than I do, and they talk about how to game the system all the time. Some of them claim to know people who pay the rent with their plasma earnings (trust me, they must be living in squalor based on how much they pay us). Others get rejected for having a high pulse (over 100 will get you turned away--how do you have a resting pulse that high?). One guy gets in and out in about 30 minutes. I asked him how he did it, and he told me he takes aspirin regularly (several pills a day) to thin is blood out, and the two days before his day to donate, he drinks lots of water and gatorade ("It replaces electrolytes"). Then he told me I owed him a bag of pork rinds as payment for his secrets. There are other guys who race each other to see who can finish faster. I spent my first few weeks trying to get things faster. One day I finished in 37 minutes, but usually it takes me around 50. So I started drinking lots of water. I tried taking aspirin the night before one donation. None of it helped. I tend to finish in 45-55 minutes no matter what. So I've given up trying. It isn't worth the effort to shave 20 minutes off my donation time. Other things are more important.
This is a business. I spend an hour waiting before it's my turn, regardless of how full the center is. They have arcane rules like, "If you step out the door, you go to the end of the line." But in the waiting room you get to listen to loudmouths brag about how quickly they finish. Then you think, "Do I really need to be here?" Unfortunately, the answer is still yes.
There are weird people at the center. Most of the people I meet come from a very different world than I do, and they talk about how to game the system all the time. Some of them claim to know people who pay the rent with their plasma earnings (trust me, they must be living in squalor based on how much they pay us). Others get rejected for having a high pulse (over 100 will get you turned away--how do you have a resting pulse that high?). One guy gets in and out in about 30 minutes. I asked him how he did it, and he told me he takes aspirin regularly (several pills a day) to thin is blood out, and the two days before his day to donate, he drinks lots of water and gatorade ("It replaces electrolytes"). Then he told me I owed him a bag of pork rinds as payment for his secrets. There are other guys who race each other to see who can finish faster. I spent my first few weeks trying to get things faster. One day I finished in 37 minutes, but usually it takes me around 50. So I started drinking lots of water. I tried taking aspirin the night before one donation. None of it helped. I tend to finish in 45-55 minutes no matter what. So I've given up trying. It isn't worth the effort to shave 20 minutes off my donation time. Other things are more important.
This is a business. I spend an hour waiting before it's my turn, regardless of how full the center is. They have arcane rules like, "If you step out the door, you go to the end of the line." But in the waiting room you get to listen to loudmouths brag about how quickly they finish. Then you think, "Do I really need to be here?" Unfortunately, the answer is still yes.
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